Karnataka, Kerala take honours

HYDERABAD, NOV. 24. Karnataka boys and Kerala girls bagged the titles in their respective categories in the sub junior National volleyball championship which concluded at the Lal Bahadur stadium's floodlit courts here this evening.

Both the finals turned out to be hard fought ones and ended in the defeat of the defending champions in each category. While in the boys match Karnataka dethroned last years winner Uttar Pradesh 26-24, 19-25, 25-11, 25-21, in the girls final Kerala which was the runner-up last year turned the tables upon defending champion Maharashtra 17-25, 25-20, 25-20, 22-25, 15-8 in a battle which lasted one hour and 48 minutes.

The girls final was the first one to be played this evening and a keen contest ensued from the very first game. Maharashtra fighting hard managed to retain a slender lead throughout the game. The tall and lanky Priyanka was the backbone of Maharashtra's attack and she also proved to be a good blocker when the need arose.

In the second game Maharashtra hit a bad patch and its players committed several errors which enabled Kerala to get back into the match. The Kerala girls on the other hand were able to place their shots accurately and find the gaps in the rival court with delicate drops.

In the third set the lead changed hands frequently before Kerala found its rhythm and with powerful smashes particularly from Anusha that clinched the game.

The fourth was a repeat story of the third and this time it was Maharashtra which came out on top so the issue went into the decider. Here Kerala had a slender lead in the initial stages which it built upon and went on to win the match. Nimmy Francis, P. Shilna, Anusha and Aswani were among those who did well for Kerala. For Maharashtra Priyanka , Jyoti Dandavate and P. Vasudevan excelled.

The boys final saw Karnataka get the better of its rival by sheer determination. In the first game after the score was 11 all Karnataka went ahead and never lost its grip.

In the second set it was UP which turned the tables upon Karnataka. But in the third game Karnataka was in full cry and won comfortably.

However the fourth game was again well fought. It was 12 all at the half way mark but thereafter Karnataka surged ahead particularly since UP had no substitutes (apart from the playing six its other players had been rejected for being overage). Ashok Kumar, S. Rao and booster R. Suresh did well for Karnataka.

Earlier in the third place play off in the boys category Tamil Nadu beat Punjab 20-25, 2-25, 25-19, 25-17, 15-9. Anthony, Kartikeyan and Phillip combined well for Tamil Nadu while for Punjab, Mandeep Singh and Kulwant gave a good display.

The third place in the girls category was taken by Karnataka which beat West Bengal 25-21, 13-25, 25-18, 25-19. Rupa, Sruthi and Ramya put up a good show for the winners while Bengal put up a good fight thanks to international Thakurmoni Oraon and Enakshi Ghosh caught the eye with their all round ability.

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Section  : Sport
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